Afirst from the BlackBerry stable, this clamshell is a fine piece of work. It features a mirrored black finish that cleverly camouflages an external display, which springs to life when you receive a call or text. You can also activate it by pressing the convenience key on the left side of the phone. Doing so reveals the time, signal strength and battery status amongst other details. At the top of the flap is a 2-meg snapper with an LED flash. Open the clamshell and you'll find the same keypad used in the Pearl. There's a recessed trackball that doesn't interfere with the screen, which is large and vibrant.



Bonus features include a light sensing display that automatically adjusts the brightness, keyboard backlighting for typing in the dark, and talk time of 4 hours. Connectivity buffs will especially dig the phone's EDGE, Wi¬Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and microSD slot. The external screen is handy to flash check SMSes, reminders, and missed calls, and email is typically class-leading. The phone's bogged down by a slow processor though, so you'll have to rein the temper horns a bit. Also don't expect the phone to do wonders on the multimedia front. Typing via takes a bit of getting used to, too So if you can do without 3G, the Flip's a great clamshell that's BlackBerry to the core. It's hot and does the dishes. Need we say more?